OVO Energy bereavement: 0330 175 9683, final bill, credit refund, and what to do next

Notifying OVO Energy after someone dies is one of several utility tasks that needs doing when settling an estate – not an emergency, but worth doing within a few weeks so that billing stops from the date of death and the final account balance is resolved. OVO has a dedicated bereavement team, a direct phone line, an online form, and an email address. This guide covers the full process: how to contact them, what documents are needed, what happens to the account, how direct debits and credit balances are handled, and what the specific rules are for prepayment meters, smart meters, joint accounts, and the Priority Services Register.

Quick reference:

• Bereavement team: 0330 175 9683 (Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm)
• Email: bereavement@ovoenergy.com
• Online: ovoenergy.com/help/bereavement
• Post: OVO Mail, PO Box 81428, London, E17 1LB
• Processing time: 1–3 weeks once documents received; final bill within 6 weeks of closure
• Do not cancel the direct debit until the final bill has been issued

Note for former SSE customers: OVO completed the migration of all SSE Energy Services customers onto OVO systems in October 2023 (source: Energy Live News). If the deceased was an SSE customer, their account will now be with OVO. Use the contact details above.

How to notify OVO Energy of a death

The most direct route is to call OVO’s dedicated bereavement team on 0330 175 9683, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. This is the number for the specialist team – not the general customer service line – so you will reach people who handle these situations regularly.

If you would prefer not to call – which is completely understandable when you are in the early days of bereavement – there are three alternatives:

• Online form: Available at ovoenergy.com/help/bereavement. Complete it in your own time and OVO will follow up.
• Email: bereavement@ovoenergy.com – useful if you want to put things in writing or have questions you would like answered in writing.
• Post: OVO Mail, PO Box 81428, London, E17 1LB

OVO also offers a BSL (British Sign Language) interpretation service via SignVideo, available Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm, for customers who communicate in sign language.

If you would rather notify OVO as part of notifying multiple organisations at once, services such as Life Ledger and Settld can do this on your behalf. Both are free.

When you contact OVO – by any method – you will need:

You do not need everything before you make contact. OVO can take an initial notification with basic details and follow up for documents. The key step is telling them promptly so that billing is correctly suspended from the date of death.

Tell Us Once does not cover energy suppliers

If you have used the Tell Us Once service through the register office – which notifies HMRC, DWP, DVLA, your local council, and other government bodies of the death – be aware that Tell Us Once does not cover private utility companies. OVO Energy, like all energy suppliers, must be contacted separately (source: gov.uk – Tell Us Once).

What Tell Us Once does cover: HMRC (tax, tax credits, Child Benefit), DWP (State Pension, Personal Independence Payment, other benefits), DVLA (driving licence), Passport Office, your local council (Council Tax, housing benefit, electoral register, library membership, blue badge), and some public sector pension schemes.

What it does not cover: Banks, insurance companies, utility suppliers, subscription services, or any private sector contracts. OVO Energy is not included.

The Death Notification Service (DNS) – which allows a single notification to reach multiple banks and building societies – is similarly a financial-sector scheme only. Energy suppliers, including OVO, are not DNS members (source: deathnotificationservice.co.uk). You cannot assume OVO has been notified through any government or cross-industry service.

This is a common point of confusion. Many families assume that using Tell Us Once has covered all their obligations. With utility accounts, it has not.

What documents you’ll need

OVO does not require original documents – copies are acceptable. The list is shorter than many people expect.

Proof of death:

• A copy of the death certificate (issued by the register office) – a photocopy or scanned photo is fine
• If the coroner has not yet released the body, an interim death certificate is also accepted

Account details:

• The account holder’s full name, postcode, and date of birth are usually enough to locate the account. An account number (from any OVO bill) helps but is not essential.

Meter readings:

• Take readings of both the gas and electricity meters on or as close as possible to the date of death. A photo on your phone works well – the timestamp serves as the date record.

Your own identity:

• OVO will ask for your contact details and your relationship to the account holder, but a formal identity document is not usually required just to notify them of a death.

If you are handling a large estate and working through multiple organisations, it is worth ordering several copies of the death certificate from the register office. Each copy costs £11 in England and Wales (source: gov.uk). For utility companies, a standard copy rather than a certified copy is generally sufficient.

If the deceased had both gas and electricity with OVO, one notification covers both – they are managed on the same account.

What happens to the account

Once OVO has been notified, the bereavement team will discuss the options with you. What happens next depends on the situation at the property.

If someone is still living at the property

If a spouse, partner, or other household member is continuing to live at the address and wants to keep the energy supply, OVO can transfer the account into their name. OVO will take a fresh meter reading as the starting point for the new account.

OVO will typically create a new account for the person taking over, with new login credentials and potentially a new tariff. The bereavement team will guide you through this.

Any credit balance on the deceased’s account will be refunded to the estate. Any outstanding balance becomes a debt of the estate, not the surviving household member personally – unless they were a joint account holder.

If the property is now empty

This is the situation most executors find themselves managing. The energy supply to the property continues until it is formally cancelled or transferred, and standing charges accrue daily whether or not anyone is using energy. OVO will place the account in the name of the estate while things are being sorted.

It is worth telling OVO promptly that the property is empty and that the estate is managing it. Keeping utilities connected in an empty property during probate is often sensible – it prevents burst pipes in cold weather and is typically a requirement of the buildings insurance policy – but you should ensure the account is in the right name and that you are receiving bills.

Standing charges on empty properties continue to accrue. A typical combined gas and electricity standing charge runs to several hundred pounds per year. OVO’s official position is that standing charges run regardless of usage as long as there are active meters at the property (source: OVO forum, bereavement standing charges thread). The bereavement team can discuss options if this is creating a problem.

Direct debits and the final bill

Do not cancel the direct debit immediately after notification. The account needs to generate a final bill, and if the direct debit is cancelled before that bill arrives, any outstanding balance will need to be paid separately and can complicate closure.

Wait until you receive a final bill showing a zero balance (or a refund confirmation) before stopping payments. Under Ofgem’s Guaranteed Standards of Performance, suppliers must issue a final bill within 6 weeks of account closure (source: Ofgem). If OVO misses this deadline, the estate may be entitled to automatic compensation.

What happens to credit on the account

Credit balances are common where monthly direct debits have been running ahead of actual usage – a pattern that becomes more likely if the deceased had been in hospital or away from home before death, with usage dropping while the direct debit continued.

OVO will refund any credit balance to the estate. The process works as follows (source: OVO Forum – credit refunds after bereavement):

• OVO’s system issues the refund automatically to the bank account linked to the direct debit
• The bereavement team has confirmed that this automated process cannot be halted or redirected once initiated

The implications:

• If the deceased’s bank account is still open: The refund will arrive there. The executor can then claim it as part of the estate.
• If the bank account has already been closed: Banks generally continue to accept incoming credits even after an account has been frozen. If the account has been fully closed, the bank will typically bounce the refund back to OVO, who will then reissue it as a cheque addressed to the executor.

If two weeks have passed since the final bill was issued and you have not received the refund or a bounced cheque, contact the bereavement team directly (phone 0330 175 9683 or email bereavement@ovoenergy.com) and ask them to trace the refund.

Any credit on the account belongs to the estate, not to the person taking over the account.

Energy debt and what the estate owes

If there was an outstanding balance on the OVO account at the time of death, that debt belongs to the estate. It is settled from the estate’s assets before any distribution to beneficiaries.

The debt does not pass to family members personally. OVO cannot pursue relatives, friends, or household members for energy debts unless they were joint account holders on the same supply address (source: Citizens Advice – debts after death).

Insolvent estates: If the estate has no assets to cover the debt, the energy debt is written off.

Exit fees on fixed-rate tariffs: If the deceased was on a fixed-rate tariff with an exit penalty, ask the bereavement team specifically whether this will be waived. OVO does not publish a blanket policy on exit fee waivers in bereavement cases, but waiving exit fees is common practice across energy suppliers. Raise this explicitly when you call – do not assume it will happen automatically.

Joint accounts

OVO accounts are most commonly in a single name. Where an account was in two names – both partners named as account holders – the process is slightly different.

If one account holder dies, the surviving account holder remains liable for the account and can continue it in their sole name. OVO will update the account to remove the deceased’s name, using the date of death as the changeover point.

Any credit balance on a joint account belongs to the estate of the deceased, not automatically to the surviving account holder. Clarify this with the bereavement team when you notify them.

If the account was in the deceased’s name only and the surviving partner wishes to continue with the property supply, they will need to set up a new account in their own name when OVO closes the deceased’s account.

Prepayment meters

If the deceased had a prepayment meter – using a key, card, or token to top up their gas or electricity – there are specific points to be aware of.

Credit remaining on the meter at the date of death forms part of the estate. This applies to both the balance shown on the meter display and any unused credit on the top-up key or card. When you notify OVO, ask specifically about recovering this credit – the bereavement team can credit it to the final account balance or arrange a refund to the estate.

Topping up the meter while the estate is being administered may be necessary if the property must remain heated (for example, to prevent burst pipes in winter). Keep receipts for any top-ups made after the date of death, as these are legitimate estate expenses.

Converting to a credit account: If you are taking over the property and do not want to use a prepayment meter, ask OVO to convert the supply to a credit account when you set up a new account in your name. OVO can arrange the necessary meter work.

Note: OVO was subject to Ofgem enforcement action in 2024 and 2025 relating to prepayment meter handling. The regulator found that OVO failed to meet certain protections for vulnerable prepayment meter customers. This history is relevant context for executors handling accounts where the deceased was in arrears or had repayment plans attached to their prepayment meter – confirm the final balance carefully with the bereavement team.

Smart meters

If the deceased had a smart meter installed, the meter itself remains in place and does not need to be returned. Smart meters continue to send automatic readings, which means OVO can base the final bill on actual consumption data rather than an estimated reading – a practical advantage for estate closure.

If you need a final meter reading for the date of death and the smart meter has not submitted one automatically for that date, the bereavement team can request a reading from the meter remotely. You do not need physical access to the meter.

The in-home display (IHD) – the small portable screen showing energy usage in near real-time – is provided free with smart meter installation. It stays in the property and will lose its live connection to the account when the account closes or is transferred. If a new account is set up at the property, the IHD can be re-linked or a new one provided.

When OVO closes or transfers the account, the smart meter will be reconfigured for the new account holder or deactivated if the property is being left empty. The bereavement team can advise on the timing.

Priority Services Register

The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a free support scheme for energy customers who need additional help – covering people with serious illness, disabilities, sensory impairments, those of pension age, those with young children, and others in vulnerable circumstances. OVO maintains its own PSR (source: OVO Energy – Priority Services Register).

PSR benefits available through OVO include:

• Advance notice of planned supply interruptions
• Priority restoration after a power cut
• Meter reads on request
• Large-print, braille, or audio bills
• A free gas safety check for eligible customers
• BSL interpretation via SignVideo
• Password-protected call verification to prevent doorstep scams

When the account holder dies: The PSR registration is linked to that individual’s account. When the account closes or is transferred, the PSR registration ends. It does not transfer to a new account holder automatically.

If a vulnerable surviving household member needs PSR support: They should apply in their own name when setting up a new account. OVO will process a new PSR application at that point. There is no waiting period.

When notifying OVO of the death, mention whether the deceased was on the PSR so the record is properly closed on their account.

What happens in Scotland

The notification process for OVO Energy is the same across the UK. The main Scotland-specific difference is the legal terminology for estate administration.

In Scotland, the document granting authority to administer an estate is called Confirmation, issued by the local sheriff court. In England and Wales, the equivalent is a Grant of Probate (if there is a will) or Letters of Administration (if there is no will). Northern Ireland uses a similar process to England and Wales.

For most routine OVO account closures – where the account is simply being closed or transferred and there is no large disputed credit balance – OVO does not require Confirmation or any Grant of Representation upfront. If they do ask for it, estates in Scotland provide Confirmation; estates in England and Wales provide a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.

Obtaining Confirmation in Scotland typically takes 8–16 weeks from application. For guidance on the process, see mygov.scot/confirmation-executor.

Note that Tell Us Once is available in Scotland via local registrars, but covers the same government-only scope. Energy suppliers including OVO are not covered in Scotland any more than in England and Wales.

Transferring the account to a new occupant

If someone new is moving into the property – a buyer, a tenant, or a family member who was not previously on the account – they should contact OVO directly to set up a new account in their own name. This is separate from the bereavement process for the deceased’s estate.

The new occupant will need their own name and contact details, the address, an opening meter reading, and their preferred payment method.

The deceased’s account and the new occupant’s account are handled as two separate matters. OVO will issue the final bill for the deceased’s account independently, with the estate responsible for any balance.

If the new account holder wants to switch to a different energy supplier after setting up a temporary account, they are free to do so. The bereavement transfer does not impose a lock-in period, though any fixed-rate tariff may carry early exit fees if switched before the end date.

If something goes wrong: escalation routes

Billing errors and administrative delays in bereavement cases happen. If you receive unexpected bills, reminder notices, or the account is not resolved within a reasonable timeframe, take the following steps.

1. Call back with your reference number. When you first notify OVO, ask for a reference number or case number. Use this on any follow-up call to avoid repeating the history.

2. Make a formal complaint. If the issue is not resolved through normal contact, raise a formal complaint with OVO. Details of their complaints process are on their website or will be provided by the customer service team.

3. Escalate to the Energy Ombudsman. If your complaint has not been resolved within 8 weeks, or if OVO issues a deadlock letter, you can raise a dispute with the Energy Ombudsman for free (source: energyombudsman.org). The Ombudsman can award compensation and direct the supplier to take specific action. Estate representatives can raise complaints on behalf of a deceased customer’s estate. Contact the Energy Ombudsman on 0330 440 1624 (Monday to Friday, 8am–6pm).

4. Citizens Advice consumer helpline. For free, independent advice, call 0808 223 1133 (Citizens Advice consumer helpline). They can help with complaints against energy suppliers, including disputed final bills on a deceased customer’s account (source: citizensadvice.org.uk).

Things to watch out for

Standing charges continue on empty properties. Even if no energy is being used, OVO’s standing charge runs daily until the account is formally closed or transferred. A typical combined gas and electricity standing charge runs to several hundred pounds per year. Notify OVO of the property situation as early as possible.

The credit refund goes to the direct debit account automatically. OVO’s system issues refunds to the bank account the direct debit came from. The bereavement team cannot redirect this. If the bank account has already been closed, wait for the refund to bounce back and be reissued as a cheque.

Reminder letters may still arrive. Some executors report receiving automated billing reminders or payment notices even after notifying OVO. If this happens, call back with your notification reference and confirm the bereavement has been logged on the account.

Former SSE customers are now OVO customers. If the deceased’s energy bills showed the SSE brand, their account will have been migrated to OVO following the completion of OVO’s acquisition of SSE’s retail business in October 2023. There is no separate SSE bereavement line. Use OVO’s contacts.

General customer service vs the bereavement team. If you reach a general OVO agent, ask specifically to speak to the bereavement team on 0330 175 9683. The process differs from standard customer service and the specialist team is better placed to help.

OVO sometimes creates a temporary estate account. Some executors have reported receiving emails about an “OVO account” they do not recognise. OVO occasionally creates a temporary account in the estate’s name during the bereavement process. This is normal – contact the bereavement team to clarify.

Summary

To notify OVO Energy after a death, call 0330 175 9683 (Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm) or complete the online form at ovoenergy.com/help/bereavement. You can also email bereavement@ovoenergy.com.

Have ready: the deceased’s name, postcode, date of birth, the date of death, and meter readings if you can access them. Do not cancel the direct debit until the final bill has been issued.

OVO is not part of Tell Us Once or the Death Notification Service. You need to contact them separately from any government notifications.

If the account is in credit, the refund will be issued automatically to the direct debit bank account after the final bill is generated. Credit belongs to the estate; debt is an estate liability, not the personal responsibility of family members. If the estate faces a billing dispute, the Energy Ombudsman can adjudicate for free after 8 weeks.

For other energy suppliers, see guides to notifying British Gas after a bereavement, notifying Scottish Power after a bereavement, notifying E.ON Next after a bereavement, and notifying EDF Energy after a bereavement.

Sources: OVO Energy bereavement page (verified June 2026); OVO Energy help article on bereavement (verified June 2026); OVO Forum – credit refunds for deceased accounts (verified June 2026); OVO Forum – standing charges after bereavement (verified June 2026); OVO Energy – Priority Services Register (verified June 2026); Energy Live News – OVO completes SSE migration, October 2023; gov.uk – Tell Us Once; gov.uk – death certificate copy costs; Ofgem – final bill standards; Citizens Advice – debts after death; Energy Ombudsman; Death Notification Service